Salaries of region’s top council officials made public
The chief executives of the North West’s two largest local authorities both got paid more than £200,000 – according to a report published by the Tax Payers’ Alliance.
Each year the organisation publishes its Town Hall Rich List which give details of council officials who earn more than £100,000.
Sir Howard Bernstein, the chief executive of Manchester City Council, was paid £205,000 last year according to the report.
And his counterpart in Liverpool Ged Fitzgerald received £201,000.
But the region’s highest paid public official is the Cheshire East’s director of public health who was paid £374,159.
And the local authority with the most employees who received remuneration in excess of £100,000 was Cheshire East with 20.
According to the report:
• There were at least 2,306 council employees who received total remuneration in excess of £100,000. This is 60 fewer than the previous year.
• 558 council employees received remuneration in excess of £150,000.
• There were 77 councils with at least 10 employees who received remuneration in excess of £100,000.
• Birmingham had three employees who received remuneration in excess of £250,000.
• Staggering pay-outs for those losing their jobs, despite a cap of £95,000 for exit payments being passed in the Enterprise Act 2016.
John O’Connell, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “The average council tax bill has gone up by more than £900 over the last twenty years and spending has gone through the roof. Disappointingly, many local authorities are now responding to financial reality through further tax rises and reducing services rather than scaling back top pay.
“Despite many in the public sector facing a much-needed pay freeze to help bring the public finances under control, many town hall bosses are continuing to pocket huge remuneration packages, with staggering pay-outs for those leaving their jobs despite a £95,000 cap passed by the last government.
“There are talented people in the public sector who are trying to deliver more for less, but the sheer scale of these packages raise serious questions about efficiency and priorities. The government must also act to implement the exit payment cap that was passed in 2016.”
